Abstract: This collection contains materials on Furgeri's
musical drama,
Al-Phonsine; including synopses, a full
copy of the piano-vocal score, a full copy of the libretto, and two copies of a
compact disc recording of musical excerpts, all created and collected by
contemporary composer Vittorio Furgeri. The musical drama is inspired by
Giuseppe Verdi's
La Traviata, and depicts a young gay man
who becomes one of the first victims of the AIDS epidemic of the
1980's.

Languages: Languages represented in
the collection: English

Access

The collection is open to researchers. There are no access
restrictions.

Publication Rights

Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in
writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the physical owner.
Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder(s) of any copyrights in
the materials. Note that ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives can grant
copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for
all other materials directly from the copyright holder(s).

Processing this collection has been funded
by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission.

Biography

Vittorio Furgeri was born in 1931. He received a degree from the
Conservatory of Rome in Italy and studied music at Columbia University after
immigrating to the United States. He is a composer and arranger, who has also
coached students in singing for more than twenty years. Furgeri has published
numerous pieces of vocal and instrumental music, in addition to theatrical
music compositions, such as the scores for musicals--
Tough Kids (1988) and
The Big Store (1991). Furgeri has also
written theatrical pieces that incorporate dance; his
Trilogy of Poe (1986),
Coemeterium (1986) and
Impressions on Mozart (1990) are examples.
The Scream (1987) is another of Furgeri's
works; it is fully orchestrated and based on the painting of the same name by
Edvard Munch.
Al-Phonsine (
Il Traviato) is his most recent completed
work.

This collection relates to Furgeri's musical drama,
Al-Phonsine, a "rock opera" that revolves
around the last few years in the life of young gay man in the early 1980's. The
story of Al-Phonsine was inspired by Giuseppe Verdi's
La Traviata. Al, the main character in
Al-Phonsine is the male counterpart to the
main character in
La Traviata, Violetta. Tuberculosis was the
cause of Violetta's death; AIDS is the disease to which Al eventually succumbs.
Al-Phonsine is sometimes referred to by the
author as
Al-Phonsine (
Il Traviato) as a tribute to this
inspiration. The collection contains synopses of
Al-Phonsine, a full copy of the piano-vocal
score, a full copy of the libretto, and two copies of a compact disc recording
of musical excerpts.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.